Warriors' Jackson says he's not worried about extension

OAKLAND -- Warriors coach Mark Jackson said Thursday that not having a contract extension past next season does not bother him.

"There is not a piece of me that's bothered that an extension has not been agreed upon or anything of that nature," Jackson said on his weekly radio show on KNBR. "We move forward. I had the deal. They picked up my option for next year, and I think that obviously speaks volumes even though for some folks it doesn't say anything."

Jackson also said that he appreciated Stephen Curry's vote of confidence in response to a Yahoo Sports report on the team's "increasingly dysfunctional atmosphere" in the wake of assistant coach Brian Scalabrine's reassignment earlier this week. Curry said he and the rest of the team supported Jackson 100 percent.

"Obviously he's a guy that had an opportunity and a platform to show his loyalty, his support for me," Jackson said of Curry. "I don't take it for granted, and it's not a surprise because he knows how I feel about him."

Jackson didn't seem sure how much of a factor the support of Curry and his teammates would be in influencing his contract status. Curry had said he hoped the team's decision-makers would ask his opinion on Jackson.

"It depends on who's making the decision," Jackson said. "To some ownership groups or management groups, it means a lot. To some, it doesn't matter what franchise players or players feel, it's business as usual. I don't know.

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"I'm thankful and grateful (for the support), and it says that we've got a tied-together group, but with that being said, I'm not even concentrating on that, to be quite honest. It doesn't matter. That will take care of itself. This is an ownership group that believes in me, pulled the trigger when nobody else decided to make me a head coach, so that will play itself out."

The Warriors face Memphis on Friday after five days off that allowed the Grizzlies to creep up in the standings and get to within a game behind Golden State for the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference.

"We really have to come out there with the mindset that this is a make-or-break game for us," center Andrew Bogut said. "We lose this game, and all of a sudden we're in very tight waters. If we win it, we get a bit more breathing space.

"We're confident we can make (the playoffs), but we're not taking anything for granted. We still have a long way to go. I've got a feeling that this season's going to come down to Game 80 and 81 and possibly even 82 the way things are looking right now."

The Warriors might play against the Grizzlies without forward David Lee, who has not practiced since suffering a hamstring strain in Saturday's loss to San Antonio. A decision on whether Andre Iguodala would return after missing three games with right knee tendinitis would not be made until Friday, and it was an "issue he's going to battle the rest of the way," Jackson said.

Jackson said he expected a "playoff-type intense game" despite the five days away from game action.

Jackson lost to Draymond Green in the quarterfinals of the Warriors' 3-point competition, and when it was over, Curry tossed a bucket of gum onto the floor in celebration as one of several players overjoyed at the outcome.

"I think a lot of guys weren't too happy with the cockiness Coach was bringing to the shootout, so it was nice to see him go down," Bogut mused.

The bracket-style tournament was brought about after Jackson defeated Curry in a 3-point contest earlier this month. Jackson said Curry was one of the players who attempted to distract him during his loss to Green and joked, "It certainly shows dysfunction."